Hawai’i County Civil Defense officials say the #PunaLavaFlow front and a previously active south margin breakout both remain stalled and haven’t moved for more than a week, but two breakouts along the north margin behind the leading edge have advanced approximately 20 yards since Monday. They say even though the flow front hasn’t been pushing downslope, it has widened about 200 yards in the last several days and is now about 500 yards across at its widest point. USGS geologists with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory say the two-fingered narrow flow lobe is about 1.6 miles upslope from the Pahoa Marketplace is advancing toward the north-northeast and has entered a drainage that leads to the steepest-descent path that crosses Highway 130 about 0.6 miles south of the Maku’u Farmers Market, but the flow is still 2.1 miles upslope from that point and moving slowly. HVO scientists say one of the active breakouts, which is about 300 yards behind the stalled front, appears to have sparked a brush fire Monday afternoon that continued to glow until midnight. Hawai’i County officials have reported dry conditions over the last few days have made brush fire concerns their top priority, but said all lava activity is currently behind the fire break and is being closely monitored. Experts say the stalled flow front is about 0.5 miles, or 880 yards, upslope of the Highway130 and Pahoa Village Road intersection, and about 580 yards or 0.3 miles from the Pahoa Marketplace. HVO scientists observed surface breakouts along the flow scattered between 0.5 and 2 miles upslope from Pahoa Marketplace. They say small breakouts were also active in an area about 4 miles upslope from Pahoa. USGS geologists say breakouts further upslope, near the True/Mid-Pacific geothermal well pad, are also active. Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira says current activity does not pose an immediate threat to area communities. Hawaii News Now latest: bit.ly/1weQZzz #MalamaPono (Photos courtesy Bruce Omori of Extreme Exposure Fine Art Gallery / Paradise Helicopters & Map courtesy Hawai’i County Civil Defense)
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 21:55:55 +0000
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